Book Review (reviewing Louis Fisher's Congress: Protecting Individual Rights)

Authors

Adeen Postar, University of Baltimore School of LawFollow

Document Type

Book Review

Journal Title

Unbound: An Annual Review of Legal History & Rare Books

Volume

9

First Page

166

Publication Date

2016

Abstract

Fisher is currently the Scholar in Residence at the Constitution Project, and is well known for his many years as Senior Specialist on Separation of Powers at the Congressional Research Service and as Specialist in Constitutional Law at the Law Library of Congress. He has extensive experience testifying before Congress on topics that include Congress and the constitution, war powers, executive power and privilege, and several aspects of the federal budget and its processes. He has written numerous books on these topics, including (to name only a few) The President and Congress: Power and Policy (1972); Defending Congress and the Constitution (2011); Constitutional Conflicts between Congress and the President (6th ed., 2014) and Political Dynamics of Constitutional Law (5th ed., 2011). He is without a doubt a renowned scholar on constitutional law.

In Congress: Protecting Individual Rights Dr. Fisher has written a history analyzing how the Congress, the Supreme Court and the President have acted, or failed to act, to protect the rights of individuals. This relatively brief book is divided into chapters that highlight the various areas where the protection of individual rights have been at issue throughout U.S. history. Chapters include the Rights of Blacks (Chapter 3), The Rights of Women (Chapter 4), The Rights of Children (Chapter 5), Protecting Religious Liberty (Chapter 6) and The Rights of Native Americans (Chapter 6). Each chapter traces the history of some of the most significant issues in our nation’s past, using brief explanations of significant Supreme Court cases and instances where the exercise of Presidential power failed to protect individuals and highlighting when Congress exercised or attempted to exercise its political will to protect those rights.

Recommended Citation

Adeen Postar, Book Review (reviewing Louis Fisher's Congress: Protecting Individual Rights), 9 Unbound: An Ann. Rev. of Legal Hist. & Rare Books 166 (2016).